An Apology and a Vow to End Burkina Faso Coup

Protesters in the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou on Monday. A deal to end the political chaos was announced on Sunday.

Sia Kambou / Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By HERVÉ TAOKO

September 21, 2015

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — With troops converging on the capital on Monday and angry protests in the streets, the general who seized power last week in Burkina Faso apologized to the nation and promised to hand power back to the civilian authorities.

The coup leader, Gen. Gilbert Diendéré, said in a statement Monday evening that “given the seriousness of the security situation” and the risk of “chaos, civil war and massive violation of human rights,” he and his followers would stand down once a political compromise brokered by West African leaders was in place. The statement said the coup leaders “deplored the loss of lives, injuries and damage” from the political crisis and would “work for the cohesion of the army.”

The country has been in turmoil since the coup, which was mounted by an elite army unit loyal to the country’s previous president, Blaise Compaoré. He was forced from office in October by mass protests against his plans to extend his tenure beyond the 27 years he had already held power.

The interim government that replaced Mr. Compaoré barred his supporters from taking part in elections scheduled for this fall, and loyalists in the elite Presidential Security Regiment responded by staging the coup on Thursday. They arrested the interim president, Michel Kafando, and the prime minister, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida.

After three days of tense negotiations, a regional team led by President Macky Sall of Senegal announced a compromise plan on Sunday that called for General Diendéré to stand down, Mr. Kafando to be returned to office and allies of Mr. Compaoré to be allowed to participate in the elections. Under the plan, the coup leaders would be given immunity from prosecution, and the election, originally scheduled for Oct. 11, would be held by Nov. 22.

Mr. Sall presented the compromise as the only way to prevent a worsening of the violence, which has killed around a dozen people and injured more than 100 others, but it was not clear at first whether either side would accept it. General Diendéré did not attend the news conference where the compromise was announced, and pro-Compaoré protesters demonstrated against the deal in the capital on Monday.

But General Diendéré soon came under intense pressure to go along with it. President François Hollande of France, which has troops stationed in Burkina Faso and wields great influence there, called on the coup leaders “to immediately lay down arms and hand over power to the legitimate authorities or face the consequences,” including possible sanctions, according to Agence France-Presse.

And in the afternoon, leaders of the nation’s armed forces threatened to march on Ouagadougou and remove General Diendéré and disarm his unit, forcibly if necessary, if he did not accept the compromise.

Witnesses in Bobo-Dioulasso, the country’s second-largest city, said they had seen troops pass through on their way to Ouagadougou. In another city, Koudougou, civilians welcomed military forces loyal to the interim president, Mr. Kafando.

“The national armed forces are converging on Ouagadougou to disarm the R.S.P. without bloodshed,” a statement attributed to top military commanders said, referring to the coup regiment by its French abbreviation. Later, Brig. Gen. Pingrenoma Zagré, the military chief of staff, called on members of the regiment to lay down their arms, promising in a statement that they would not be harmed.

Agence France-Presse reported early Tuesday that the army had entered Ouagadougou without resistance.

Gilles Thibault, the French ambassador to Burkina Faso, urged French citizens to stay in their homes. The country, previously called Upper Volta, was a French colony before independence in 1960.